I moved to Ecuador because the US was too expensive. I’d love to move back to Montana and be near my grandkids but I can’t afford it. [Video]

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with 71-year-old Lonita Jensen, a retired nurse who is from Montana but currently living in Ecuador. Business Insider has verified the rental prices. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in Billings, Montana. I was born and raised there. I never left Montana until I was in my thirties. I went to college in Bozeman.

My husband was in construction, and we ended up moving a lot when I was in my thirties. So I’ve lived in other places, but I keep coming back to Montana. But then the last time I tried to come back, the prices had just gone up so high.

I was a nurse, but I retired to become the nanny for my grandson in Dallas. I did that for three years, and then I couldn’t survive down there. It was so expensive. So I checked Montana …